Correlation of Sexual Activity/Substance Abuse and Team Sport Participation Among Adolescents Nationwide

Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine recently published a study focusing on the relationship between adolescent sexual activity/substance use and team sport participation. Researchers wanted to determine whether vigorous physical activity, team sport membership, or a combination of the two factors contributed to lower rates of substance abuse and risky sexual behavior among adolescents.

Methods

Researchers used data from the 1999 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). They included 15,142 YRBS respondents in grades 9-12 from 144 schools nationwide in their analysis.

Researchers looked at questions regarding vigorous physical activity (defined as at least 20 minutes of exercise that induced heavy breathing and sweating) and team sport membership within the 12 months preceding the YRBS. They placed participants in one of four categories based on their responses to these questions.

The "active team" category included participants who reported membership on at least one sports team and vigorous physical activity on three or more of the seven days preceding the YRBS.

The "active non-team" category included participants who reported no team participation, but vigorous physical activity on three or more days in the seven days preceding the YRBS.

The "non-active team" category included participants who reported belonging to a sports team but did not engage in vigorous physical activity on at least three days in the seven days preceding the YRBS.

The "non-active non-team" category included participants who reported neither vigorous physical activity, nor team sport membership.

Demographics

• 49.6% of participants were female and 50.4% male
• 60.8% of participants self-identified as non-Hispanic White, 14.1% as non-Hispanic Black, 10.4% as Hispanic/Latino, and 14.7% as "Other"
• 28.9% of participants were in ninth grade, 26% in tenth grade, 23.6% in eleventh grade, and 21.4% in twelfth grade

Results

The researchers found no correlation between sexual behavior/substance use and physical activity among male participants. Thus, the researchers only included data on female participants.

Association Between Physical Activity and Selected Risk Behaviors for Females

• 34.8% of female participants were in the "active team" category, 21.9% in "active non-team," 13.4% in "non-active team," and 29.3% in "non-active non-team"
• 38.8% of "active team" females reported ever having had sexual intercourse, compared to 52.2% of "active non-team" females, 52.7% of "non-active team" females, and 52.7% of "non-active non-team" females
  • 9.8% of "active team" females reported ever having been forced to have sexual intercourse, compared to 13.7% of "active non-team" females, 15.8% of "non-active team" females, and 13.2% of "non-active non-team" females*
• 7.2% of "active team" females reported having had four or more lifetime sexual partners, compared to 12.6% of "active non-team" females, 14.8% of "non-active team" females, and 19.7% of "non-active non-team" females
  • Of these, 27.7% of "active team females" reported having had four or more sexual partners in the three months preceding the YRBS, compared to 39% of "active non-team" females, 42.8% of "non-active team" females, and 41.5% of "non-active non-team" females
• 54.8% of sexually active "active team" females reported having used condoms during last sexual intercourse, compared to 56% of "active non-team" females, 55.3% of "non-active team" females, and 41.4% of "non-active non-team" females
• 4.8% of "active team" females reported ever having been pregnant, compared to 9.5% of "active non-team" females, 6% of "non-active team" females, and 10.4% of "non-active non-team" females

  * Although "forced sexual intercourse" is not a behavior, this YRBS item was included because the researchers believed it was an important health risk factor -- especially for female respondents.

The researchers found a correlation between sexual activity/substance use and female participants’ physical activity. Overall, they found that exposure to both physical activity and team sports membership was associated with less risky behaviors among female participants. They determined that neither physical activity alone nor team sport membership alone could reduce risky behavior rates among female adolescents.

The researchers recommend making it easier for female adolescents to join team sports. They argue that schools and communities should seriously consider the benefits of sport team membership for female students.

For more information:

Kimary Kulig, Ph.D et. al, "Sexual Activity and Substance Use Among Adolescents by Category of Physical Activity Plus Team Sports Participation," Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, vol. 157, issue 9, pp. 905-12.